Cluster-Based CAN with Enhanced Transmission Capability for Vehicle Networks

Controller area network (CAN) is widely used in automotive control systems as standard networks. However, the bandwidth limitation can not fulfil the communication requirement from increasing number of electronic components in vehicles. We propose to divide the nodes on the CAN buses into clusters. Communication cycles include the intra and inter communication time for transferring messages inside and between the clusters. The proposed method is called ClusterCAN which is a cyclic communication method based on CAN. ClusterCAN can transmit numerous messages simultaneously under proper clustering to enhance throughput. We provide the design concept of the bus segmentation and communication cycle for parallel transmission for the proposed ClusterCAN. Furthermore, the worst case response time analysis of the ClusterCAN is derived and used in the simulations. From the experimental results, the schedulable messages increase 50% and 75% under two and three clustering groups with the fixed inter connection ratio (10%) compared to the normal CAN.

1. Introduction

The number of electronic devices in vehicles has increased to replace the mechanical and hydraulic parts for years. Using the electronic system reduces the weight and cost of vehicles as well as provides better control. All these electronic components need an efficiency way to exchange information, and controller area network (CAN) is a low cost, reliable, flexible, and extensible communication protocol.